God Is Making A Leader-Standing Up For Others
Not long ago I wrote a post called You Don’t Choose Your Calling-God Does. I was amazed to see this working right before my eyes recently in my 14 year old daughter. I knew she was a leader…her teacher’s always put her in leadership positions…our church Youth Group recently asked her to become a leader/mentor for the Middle School (which is huge because we go to a mega huge church) and recently one of her Basketball Coaches spoke to her about how all the girls look up to her and that she is a real leader…
Now I am honestly not bragging…I mean as a Mom I see the “other” side of this amazing 14 year old girl…you get what I mean…But something happened this week that blew my mind…and I thought to myself…”yes…God is making a leader out of this girl of mine (His)”
God Is Making A Leader-Standing Up For Others
One thing I can tell you is this…Good leaders are humble and most don’t really see just how gifted they are. They are servants. They are courageous people that might be afraid on the inside, but they still obey God anyway…They stand up for righteousness when it costs them everything…
The true evidence of being a leader is what’s inside…evidence that God is working hard on a heart…even when nobody else is watching…
There are many “leaders” who don’t have a heart for God…just a drive to succeed. If you watch long enough it shows in there character…sooner or later everything crumbles because they are not standing on the “Rock”
Back to my story…
One day last week my daughter came home in a “mood” from school. I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut and just let her unwind..lest I become the target of her frustration.
But today…
She came into the kitchen where I was and said…”you know what happened today?” in a very indignant manner.. “Nope, tell me about it” My daughter is the story teller in this family..she can go on for hours with the most amazing stories about people, situations… really just about anything.
“Well” she says…then began to recite to me the exact details about how her very best friend and another very good friend had made a book of really mean stuff in it about a girl that nobody likes at school because she is always stealing girls boyfriends…and so on. She told me that it was called a “burn book” Something in a movie. It was sooo upsetting to my daughter.
What shocked me was what she did…
She confronted the two of them and told them that they were bullying and that they needed to throw that book away. It surprised me because she did not even like the girl that this book was about.
Her “best friend” and “good friend” told her that if she was really a good/best friend that she would agree with them and support them no matter what they were doing..
She said “absolutely NOT” She told them that she would NOT support the bullying of anyone…period. She walked away…
Her “best friend” and “good friend” disowned her and their relationship has ended. Crazy huh!?
My daughter went on to tell me how she didn’t care who a book like that was about..it was wrong and she would NOT support it! I could see that she was so mad at her “friends” She was not heartbroken…but I could tell she could not stand the injustice of bullying.
I loved it! I was sad about the situation…but the price she had to pay for standing up for righteousness for a girl that she didn’t care for…was absolutely what would please the heart of God.
For God does this everyday for us doesn’t He?
He stands up for us even when we don’t deserve it!
Yes God is making an amazing leader out of my daughter…she belongs to the One who created her…He will do as He pleases with her..
Yes I will just sit back and watch I think..and try to remember that while I may see a 14 year old girl with a lot of hormones flying around..God is working ever so silently and deeply on her heart and transforming her to His image and making her His leader for His glory…
I am so proud of your daughter for standing up for what is right!! I have no doubt that it is because of the beautiful role model she has in you Shari Lynne!! Blessings, Debbie
Awww you are so sweet Debbie 🙂 I am proud of her too! Blessings to you..I just love all of your beautiful pictures!
This is the first time I’ve visited your blog and I just love it! What an encouraging post. Hooray for your daughter for standing up for her beliefs no matter what the cost. I love this statement that you made. Such truth! “The true evidence of being a leader is what’s inside…evidence that God is working hard on a heart…even when nobody else is watching… ” I’ll be back again, and I’m now following on Facebook. Thank you for linking up at Leaving A Legacy.
Blessings~
Shari {We have the same name 🙂 }
Hi there Shari!! So nice of you to stop on by 🙂 You are so sweet..I Love your blog also!! Yes..sometimes with kids, especially kids you wonder what is
going on in there and then God reveals..ALOT!! 🙂 Yay for God..He is just toooo good! I’ll follow you too on facebook and I look forward to connecting! Blessings to you!!
Your daughter did the right thing, and a very brave thing, but I question the concept of whether or not the person she was protecting “deserved” it. So nobody likes her (the girl being attacked). So maybe there’s a reason. But in the case you are describing, the attack was wrong — whether or not the girl attacked stole other girls’ boyfriends, whether or not she “deserved” it — your daughter stood up for the dignity of another human being, made in the image of God as we all are.
I speak from experience when I say that it’s easy for labels to fly and for girls to be labeled “bad,” “trashy,” and “not deserving.” Sometimes they do really dumb things; “good” girls rebel, “bad” girls hurt — all girls, boys, men, and women, deserve an element of understanding and compassion that labels defy.
Your daughter showed a true element of Christ’s spirit in this situation.
Hi Carol! Thank you so much for stopping by and giving such a thoughtful response to my post 🙂 I really appreciate it.. It’s funny you would bring this up because as I wrote it .. the thing that was truly on my mind is that none of us really “deserve” grace..it’s just given freely no matter what our behavior is..inside or out 🙂 I was afraid that my words might be misunderstood. 🙁
The attack was definitely wrong for sure and actually just yesterday these two girls repented..not sure of the details but at any rate..I’m very thankful that my daughter did not buy into this kind of bullying and or peer pressure 🙂
I was totally a “bad” girl growing up..but oh how I wish that someone would have stood up for me..that would have exemplified Christ’s character on my behalf. I always speak to my kids about not judging the heart, intentions or actions of others because we never know where they come from or what is going on there lives.
I can see that I need to be more careful in my wording and that before I press publish maybe I should be more selective in my words 🙂 I do hope however that my point is still what shines through. Thank you again for stopping by!
Blessings to you!
Hi, Shari — I’m glad to hear that you were a “bad” girl growing up — and while no one stood up to show you Christ’s love (this is all too frequent, I’m afraid) — you yourself now stand up for those who hurt and are rejected.
God is gracious in letting us fail. It’s only as we see how lacking we are — in strength, in wisdom, in compassion, in understanding — do we realize how heavily we lean on him.
Yes I was definitely a lost “bad” girl. I’m a recovering alcoholic/drug addict for 29 years now 🙂 I started when I was 12 years old due to a horribly family life. (alcoholism/abuse)
You are truly right Carolyn..boy do we need the Lord everyday in every way Sister.. and it is truly our failings that point that out..OUCH 🙂 Umm it takes some more failings than others to learn this lesson..LOL Thank you again for stopping by.
Blessings
What a proud parent moment! I don’t know why more kids don’t have the confidence to stand up for what they believe in.
Hi Sandy…thanks so much for stopping by. Yes I am proud of her..God is doing amazing things in her 🙂 I don’t know why so many kids are afraid to stand up for what is right either! It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine anymore..LOL maybe that’s why she did it 🙂 Blessings!
Yeah for your daughter! God will give her true friends. Vicki
Yes ..He definitely will Vicki! Thanks for stopping by! Blessings!
It’s very exciting to hear about how young people are courageous enough to take a stand against injustice and unrighteousness in our culture.
Sounds like you’ve given your daughter a very firm/solid foundation to build her life on….Jesus!!
I’m also confident that you’ve been a good role model for her too, Shari Lynne!
Keep up the good work = )
Awww you are so sweet Deb 🙂 Jesus is definitely the answer for the injustices in this world..and I am loving watching her live out His love for others..even when she doesn’t care for someone in particular. Thanks for stopping by!